Water in the Map Pocket

[toomdog]

Hi folks,
I'm not sure if this is specifically a Ghia question (in fact, I suspect it's not), but a Ghia is what I have with this problem.

I noticed one day, out of the blue, that my passenger map pocket was full of water, maybe 3" deep. I was actually kind of impressed it would hold that much without leaking. But where did it come from?
I had taken her to a car wash for the first time a few days prior, the kind you put money in and run the power sprayer yourself. Her rubber is real lousy (new seals on the way!), so I was careful which direction and where I was spraying. My friend and I drove it to a car show from the car wash and didn't notice any water anywhere all day.

Of course, as soon as I noticed the water, I cleaned it up. A baster did most of the work and paper towels dried up the rest. about a week later, we had some rain. With that incident still on my mind, I checked the map pockets and found them dry—Oh, what a relief!
But the next rain that came, I checked again and both doors were holding water in the map pockets.
No sign of water inside, just map pockets full of water. The next rain after that, the driver's side had dried up and stayed that way, but passenger (the first door to be observed with water) was indeed still holding water.

I wouldn't expect it to be coming up from below—that much water in the door would be noticeable and I don't think it could get that high, but if the pocket is watertight enough to hold 3" of water for three days, I wouldn't expect it to leak in from the bottom.
Where is it coming from? Do you think replacing window and door seals will stop it? I don't know if my doors have a plastic lining, but could that being missing cause this?

Any help would be appreciated!
-Matt

[Era Vulgaris]

My guess is you're missing the vapor barrier between the door and door panel. The back of the door panels are masonite, which will absorb and hold water, and eventually just disintegrate if too much water gets on them for too long a period of time.
Take your door panels off. Be prepared for the possibility that they will crumble when you do.
_________________
Currently own:
66 Karmann Ghia, L390 Gulf Blue, under construction, here: www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=760505&highlight=
99 Mazda MX-5 10AE, Sapphire Blue Mica, 6 speed, LSD

Previously owned:
98 Porsche Boxster, silver, 2.5L -- 67 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1500sp -- 98 BMW Z3, Atlanta Blue Metallic, 2.8L I6 -- 75 Porsche 914, Laguna Blue, 2270cc -- 72 Porsche 914, Signal Orange, 1.7 FI -- 74 Karmann Ghia, Black, 1600dp -- 74 Triumph TR6 with O.D., sapphire blue